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Shepherd's magic means orphan lamb can find a new mum

Martin Lewes

Reporter

It's lambing time, and every shepherd will face the problem of lambs or ewes dying during the dangerous process of birth.

Hannah Jackson, 24, a first-generation farmer who fell in love with shepherding on a holiday in the Lake District and has already gained a following in the hard world of fell-farming, tweets as @redshepherdess.

She has just told her 7,000 followers how you get a ewe to adopt an orphan lamb.

Minister says dual carriageway A595 will come in sections

The transport minister Chris Grayling has said he does want to see the A595 between Carlisle and west Cumbria made into a dual carriageway, but it will have to be done bit by bit.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Speaking on a visit to the county to announce improvements at two roundabouts near Great Clifton, Mr Grayling said fitting a larger road into the landscape might be difficult but there was a case to do it.

"There will be places that will be quite difficult to dual, but what we've got to make sure is that this is a road that is fit for purpose," he said.

Cumbrian politicians say A595 road schemes 'don't go far enough'

Adam Powell

Journalist, BBC Radio Cumbria

Two leading Cumbrian politicians say road schemes on the main route from Carlisle to west Cumbrian must be just the first step.

Cumbria County Council's Labour leader Stewart Young and Mike Starkie, the independent Mayor of Copeland, were speaking after the transport minister, Chris Grayling, announced plans to upgrade two roundabouts near Great Clifton.

Mayor Starkie said: "These new monies are I trust a first step and the start of things to come.

"I would like to see a clear plan of action and a timeline attached to that plan that addresses the priority areas and particularly the need for a Whitehaven relief road to address the high volumes of traffic that travel to and from the nuclear industry."

Parents protest as youngsters miss out on academy places

Some parents in west Cumbria whose children have not been given places at their preferred secondary school say they are the victims of "rural discrimination".

Only a third of all year six pupils at Gosforth, Eskdale and Seascale primary schools got a place at their catchment school, the West Lakes Academy in Egremont, and some of the rejected pupils already have older siblings at the school.

The West Lakes Academy has issued a statement saying it was over-subscribed, and that the criteria set out in its admissions policy had been rigorously applied.

GoogleCopyright: Google

Jen Norman's daughter is one of the pupils at Seascale School (pictured) who has been told she can't go to the academy this September, and she must go to Millom instead.

Sje said: "As good as Millom is, the travelling will be detrimental to their learning, because they will be so tired; we're not as accessible to Millom as we are to the north."

Envelope update

Severe accident: A595 Cumbria both ways

A595 Cumbria - A595 Springfield Road in Bigrigg blocked and very slow traffic in both directions between the Springfield Road junction and the Mirehouse Road junction, because of an accident involving three vehicles, debris on the road and an oil spillage.

But Sue Hayman, the Labour MP for neighbouring Workington, said: "We could go out to universities to encourage students who are graduating to come here, we could have an 'Isn't West Cumbria fabulous' campaign, which we haven't done. There is much more we could do to be proactive about it."

But the chief executive of the North Cumbria Hospitals Trust, Stephen Eames, says consultant-led maternity care in Whitehaven will probably not be viable in the long term.

Quote Message:
All of the experts think it's highly unlikely that we can get the sort of infrastructure we need to maintain services long-term."
from
Stephen Eames
North Cumbria Hospitals Trust chief executive

All of the experts think it's highly unlikely that we can get the sort of infrastructure we need to maintain services long-term."